Regulation No.2, 2019, Shanghai AMR

To all the district market regulation administrations, the airport branch of Shanghai Administration for Market Regulation (AMR in short), the district public security bureaus, the district taxation bureaus, and the district human resources and social security bureaus:

In order to thoroughly carry out the deployment of further optimizing doing business environment by the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and the State Council, executing relevant requirements by the CPC Shanghai Municipal Committee and the Shanghai Municipal Government, as well as to carry out the Implementation plan of further optimizing the doing business environment in Shanghai, opinions on further promoting the reform of facilitating Starting Business are released as following:

I. Guiding Principles

Relevant departments are supposed to thoroughly implement the gist of 19th CPC National Congress, and earnestly carry out the important instructions by General Secretary Xi Jinping during his field survey in Shanghai, as well as to execute the deployment by the municipal meeting on further optimizing the business environment in Shanghai, focusing on the reform of streamlining administration, combining power delegation with enhanced supervision and optimized services, so as to create a business environment characterized by the rule of law, international standards and convenience, meeting the needs and attaining satisfaction of both enterprises and citizens. By doing so, the city’s soft power and core competitiveness will be constantly improved.

II. Goal

Improve the efficiency of starting business and launch the upgraded version of the existing Integrated Registration Service system (IRS system in short). Optimize the process of application with one unified form, the share of information and the parallel processing in different departments, so as to realize the goal of filling and submitting one starting business form, successfully registration in a day and claiming the related items in the same day of registration. That means, the applicant filling and submitting a starting business form, which collecting all the information for starting a business, i.e. the information for business registration (including the social insurance registration for employment), company seals making and taxation related items applying . The AMR will process and approve the registration application in a day (with the social insurance registration for employment be completed simultaneously), the enterprise can claim the business license, company seals and invoices on the same day of approval of registration. A newly established enterprise will be able to start operation within 2 days at the fastest once all the required materials are submitted, which should be legal in form.

III. Detailed measures

(I) To realize the goal of starting business via one website. Aiming on integration of all procedures for starting business and on the basis of integration of business registration and taxation related items into IRS last year, integrate more starting business- related procedures, i.e., company seals making, social insurance registration for employment into IRS. Meanwhile, services items for doing business after starting are also to be gradually integrated into the IRS system, such as provident fund. An applicant can complete all the starting business-related procedures by filling and submitting one online form via one website. Besides this, an applicant can also use IRS enjoy some additional after-starting services, such as making reservation for opening bank account, transacting provident fund ,etc.

(II) To innovate a paperless whole-process electronic registration mechanism. A paperless whole-process electronic registration module for starting business will be launched in the IRS system. By utilizing the technologies of identification and electronic signature, the whole process of application by applicants and approval by registration authorities is to be completed wholly online. Applicants will be able to complete the registration for starting business without submitting any paper materials on-site, who will also obtain an electronic business license. Thus, no visit to the authorities will be needed.

(III) To promote the use of electronic business license. An electronic business license with unified standard, based on the relevant national laws and regulations will be issued to all companies by the AMR. The electronic business license bears the same legal validity as the paper version, and is a legal certificate of a company’s qualification. Enterprises can download and utilize the electronic business license on electronic devices such as smartphones and so on.

(IV) To optimize the official seal making procedure. Based on the existing seals making application page of IRS, a module of online selection of seal making shops, types of company seals and various seal materials will be added, which also displays the prices of different sets. An applicant can choose all the detailed items and visit the seal making shops to claim official seals directly after the enterprise is properly registered. The industry of seal making will be further regulated to promote competition in the market, aiming at stabilizing and lowering the price of official seal making.

(V) To integrate the procedure of submitting social insurance registration for employment. The information collecting of social insurance registration for employment is to be integrated into the IRS system, applicants may submit employment information while applying for starting a business by IRS. Once the company is registered, the social insurance registration for employment will be finished simultaneously, no paper materials are to be submitted and no written feedbacks are to be claimed.

(VI) To set up Integrated Registration Service Center for starting business. By guiding district bureaus to optimize offline service, Integrated Registration Service Center for starting business in administration service centers in the districts will be set up with proper condition. The business license and invoices are to be processed and obtained via one window, there will be no need to visit different sites.

IV. Organizing for Implementation

(I) To strengthen organization and leadership. A leadership group on promoting the facilitation of starting business will be established under the guidance of the Municipal Government, which bears the responsibility to plan and deploy the optimization of business environment. The Shanghai AMR is responsible for the development and maintenance of the IRS system, as well as the facilitation reforms related to business license processing, other members of the leadership group should be focused on the facilitation reforms in different domains, according to their respective administrative functions.

(II) To enhance safeguard for implementation. As a response to the increasing demand of enterprise-related services, the district bureaus are to upgrade the hardware in service centers, the team of window service staff should be better motivated and organized and adequate personnel and resources be made available to ensure the efficient progressing of window services. The service quality is not supposed to decline due to the unfamiliarity of service contents, the transfer or insufficiency of window service personnel. In addition, the frontline staff dedicated to enterprise-related services should be engaged in more effective training, which will help them to completely master the new procedures and methods, and the evaluation after the issue and implementation of policies should be emphasized, safeguarding the effect of the reforms.

(III) To enhance the supervision and examination. The Shanghai AMR is supposed to provide guidance for all districts, jointly with other relevant departments, on facilitating the procedures for starting business, and to undertake examinations on the effect of implementation of policies, as well as to make timely notifications of problems. Meanwhile, it should focus on and value the needs of applicants, collect feedbacks that cause obstructions or difficulties, try to discover, sort out and solve problems, ensuring the accuracy and coverage of policy implementation.

The Opinions shall take effect on the day of issue, and shall be valid until December 31, 2023.

March 4th, 2019